Mediation and Arbitration in Political Negotiations: A Comparative Study Between Islamic Jurisprudence and International Law

Abstract

This study revolves around two important themes in the field of international relations in general and in the field of international negotiations in particular, namely, the concepts of mediation and arbitration, the legal provisions related to them, and the legal objectives of each of them. The study aims at contributing in the efforts of activating the role of political jurisprudence in addressing some of the calamities and contemporary challenges in accordance with the objectives of Sharia/Islamic law/ Several main axes have been discussed, the most prominent of which including the concept, the rule and the purposes of mediation in Islam. Great emphasis has also been given to arbitration, its legality, terms, place, and purposes, and the wisdom of its legality from the Islamic perspective. In this study, the researcher uses two approaches: The analytical approach, by studying the various scientific problems, disassembling, synthesizing, and evaluating, so that the topics raised are studied and analyzed via the application of Maqasidi/ interpretation so that a clear ground is formed for constructing and deriving legal rulings for the themes presented in light of Maqasid of Sharia. As for the second approach, the inductive approach is used for the extrapolation of texts and its developments. This requires clarification of provisions in light of the objectives of Shariah. Among the most important findings of this study, a correlation between the linguistic meanings of the concepts of mediation and arbitration in Islam on the one hand and their idiomatic concepts on the other. The findings also show that working in mediation and arbitration in international relations from the perspective of Maqasid Shariah is permissible as long as the intention is reconciliation and resorting to international courts. The permissibility is conditional on no prejudice to the rights of Allah, and it is subject to the fact that this arbitration does not corrupt Muslims, or wastes interest, or detracts from the sovereignty of Muslims. The mediation and arbitration process results in binding after the litigants approve it or if a court ruling supports it.